Sri Lanka Buddhists overwhelm city to view sacred tooth

Buddhists flocking to see a sacred tooth in Sri Lanka were urged by authorities to stay away on April 24 after four people died and hundreds fell sick while in lengthy queues.

Regional police chief Lalith Pathinayake said queues in the city of Kandy were already 10 kilometres (six miles) long as Buddhists waited to worship what they believe to be a tooth of the Buddha — a special showing of the relic that will end on Sunday.

Officials estimated there were around 450,000 people in queues on April 24 morning, more than double the expected daily number of 200,000..…| read more on UCA News